Tuna 101: Everything You Need to Know About Shopping for Canned Tuna 

Jack Bishop is such a wonderful tester / presenter on ATK. I always appreciate his comparisons with a non biased outlook. AND because of Jack's comparisons, my pantry selections have improved dramatically.

I grew up eating a lot of tuna mixed with cooked onions (cooled), lime juice, salt, and olive oil mixed together with a chopped tomato and putting it over rice. Major staple my Ecuadorian mom would make me, and I love it! 🇪🇨😋

I tried the Genova Yellowfin in oil this year. It's delicious, and completely changed my mind about tuna.

We like "Wild Planet" sustainable pole & line caught albacore from Costco in a 6 pack on sale(screaming deal),even though it`s packed in water.Instructions on the can suggest "do not drain" which we don`t do b/c one of our cats LOVE that water and comes a runnin when she hears that can pop open!BTW this tuna has good flavor and texture.

I loved my mom's tuna fish sandwich with mayo, relish, a dab of mustard, and a slice of cheese. All this from the 50s when Tuna of the Sea was about the only one available. AND it was always in oil. By the way, when they are packed in oil if you poke a hole in the lid, stuff a pice of cotton string into the hole, you now have an oil candle that will provide you with a lot of hours of light. THEN you eat the tuna

Here in France you have the supermarket brands, which are ok...and then there's Ortiz. I don't know what's available in the States but Ortiz make several different kinds of bottled tuna (yes, bottled). The albacore filets packed in olive oil are the best, laid out right out of the jar for a salad Niçoise or mixed with Japanese or homemade mayo, pickle relish, dill weed, and a friendly shake of cayenne on toasted homemade sourdough for the best tuna sandwich in creation!

I learn SO much from these little videos; I’ve been eating canned tuna for decades (more than half a century…) and had NO idea how it was packaged, what to look for, nothing. I just went for albacore packed in water. I think it’s time to rethink my tuna purchases! Thank you.

These lessons with Jack are the best. Sometimes I'll watch episodes and fast forward just to his testing segments first

My favorite is still Bumble Bee Solid White Tuna in water wild caught.

...until you check the prices.

I LOVE Tuna. Always have, always will

I LOVE WATCHING AND LISTENING TO BOTH JACK AND The Other Bearded Gentlemen (whose name escapes me right now) on the right and Best kind of tools to Accomplish Awsone meals for my Family. I've been using his Advice on the Purchase of kitchen tools for years and I have NEVER BEEN Disappointed. Thank you 😊

The "dry" canned tuna spoken of is the tuna I ate growing up and as such it's my preferred tuna for tuna salad sandwiches that taste the best to me. Kind of like how they say the American pork supply is now clean enough that pork chops can be safely cooked medium or even medium rare but I grew up eating pork chops well done so that's how I like it. For the price of those premium canned/jarred tunas I'd personally just get fresh tuna and cook it exactly how I want it, which can differ depending on the particular dish I'm making.

As a kid, I loved my mom's tuna fish sandwiches made with whichever brand was on sale. I don't think our small town grocery even sold tuna fish in olive oil. My mom made great tuna fish patties too!

Growing up we had tuna in either olive oil or tomato base sauce . This was a poor man’s meal and we sauté it with onions and tomatoes at times with scrambled eggs and or made into soup with glass noodles.Most of the Japanese brand canned tuna are very good.

I'd like to see a study on his statement regarding tuna tasting better due to having "less stress" when caught by a pole rather than by a net.

I would be curious to see a blinded taste test on that claim about the pole caught tasting better.

Thanks for the 'pole/line caught' tip. Definitely going to prioritize that.

It makes great sense in the description to say "Read the canned tuna taste test:" and then have it behind a paywall.

Jack Bishop has helped my cooking so much.

I remember the first time I tried Tonnino. It's so delicious.

I "splurge" on Ortiz when I can get a deal buying several tins at once. I just used Ortiz last weekend to make a little two-serving batch of something related to cheesy tuna noodle casserole. But I also remember, in the state where I lived before moving to my current situation, shopping at the market I called "The Used Food Store", buying cans of tuna from Chile that I called "flake dark". It looked more or less like cat food, with a little half of a chili pepper, seeds removed, pressed into the top of the fish under the can lid. AND I LOVED THAT STUFF.

I had tuna in olive oil, ate the stuff right out the can cold... was so damn tasty.

And if you can find Tonino with the red label, treat yourself to that gem.

I eat a tuna sandwich literally every single day. Light in water is my choice as it is lower in calories, moister and has more flavor than white packed in oil. Eat whatever tuna you like and can afford, it’s your choice and we should all be eating more fish ❤️

At $2 or more for a can of tuna, most middle income families have to watch every dime they spend on groceries, especially now. We grew up on tuna fish sandwiches and casseroles. And although the expensive brands may taste a bit better, processed tuna is processed tuna. Unfortunately, albacore tuna gives me headaches. Now, ordering tuna steak at a nice restaurant is a 'different kettle of fish' as the saying goes. Thanks for the review.

i love this show and ms lancaster is like a treat for the eyes ..

The best tuna I ever had is when I was a teenager, we used to buy it straight from the fishing boat and as soon as we arrive home we cook/can it in extra virgin oil from our olive trees. Till this day I love canned tuna in olive oil. But there are different olive oils that are gonna influence the flavors plus there are different part of the tuna, the flavor of the meat and the texture is different. Some are better for cooking others to just eat straight from the can without cooking, like salads, toasts... One tip, never throw away the oil and keep it in the fridge, if you're to cook some fish stews or pastas with tuna sauce later, use the oil to lightly fry (medium heat) your garlic and tomatoes. At the end throw some tuna in it, the flavor will be 10 times better.

I buy "Natural Catch" tuna in bulk. It is pricy upfront, but averages out to $3.50/can. I think it's delicious enough to eat from the can (and I have!) 🙂

Best can tuna ive had was a store brand (Co-op i think was the store) in Italy. Inexpensive and life changing delicious! So far I haven't found anything similar here in the US

they never review Trader Joe's products, but their canned tuna's are all very good and packed in olive oil. at a little over $2 per can, they're also a bargain.

Jack, based on this video, I purchased "StarKist E.V.O.O. Solid Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 4.5 Oz" , "Kirkland Albacore Solid White Tuna in water, 7oz" and "Chicken of the Sea 'Chunk Light" in water, 7oz". I tried all three straight from the can. I then made a "Tuna Salad" mix with each and tried them on Iceberg Lettuce" leaves. The "Starkist EVOO Solid Yellowfin was delicious plain and in Tuna Salad. Both water based tunas were poor (and that's being kindly). You were right!!! "StarKist E.V.O.O. Solid Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 4.5 Oz - Wild Caught" will be my only tuna from now on. My experiment could save your viewers a good bit of time and expense and buy only "OIL BASED Canned YELLOWFIN Tuna!!

Any additional information on sustainability or mercury content?!?

I normally buy Tonnino tuna in olive oil, however people told me how good Ortiz was, so I just bought a can and opened it yesterday. It was bone dry tuna, packed in olive oil and was so fishy tasting, almost like sardines. I have no idea what happened there, I ate it, and it was ok, but I heard so much about it, it was a bit of a disappointment, so now I'm back to either Tonnino, in olive oil, or plain old Starkist.

I too now enjoy tuna - the stuff we had as a kid was kinda nasty, but when I found yellowfin packed in olive oil, I fell in love with tuna! my go to for a quick salad and/or sandwich! Love "adult" tuna!

I always liked canned tuna sandwich

I grew up with tuna packed in oil. I hated tuna packed in water, but my mom never gave that to us. It wasn't until later on that I even knew it existed. My mom would put it on two slices of bread and pack it for my school lunch sometimes. No miracle whip, no pickles, no onions, and no eggs. We would have tuna salad sandwiches on Saturdays or summer days while we were at home. Because our cold lunch sat at the back of the classroom until lunch time, she only put tuna on the bread, and by the time I would eat it, that oil had seeped into the bread, and honestly, it was the best thing ever! I would get it with Pringles, plane chips, or corn chips. I like tuna salad also, but we did not use mayonnaise, only miracle whip! Also, chopped sweet pickles, chopped sweet onion, and boiled eggs. Same types of chips with it!

I'm a Portofino, yellowfin tuna, in olive oil, kinda guy. Just got into it this year.

Forget caned tuna. Sardines are way better, When used the same way. Just buy the best quality. Season brand from Costco are amazing.

I wish you had Genova in that mix. It’s all I will use and the taste is delicious!

Yes !!!! We lived in Italy for 4 years and fell in love with tuna in olive oil.

It would be nice if you included a more budget friendly option.

Ortiz makes some mighty fine products.

I appreciate the honesty of the opinion even if it may appear to be a promotion I can see beyond that and as always the honesty of opinion is key

Now that's a AAA+ product presentation. Thanks Jack

I've been eating Wild Planet Albacore and I gotta say it costs a lot but it's worth the money. Never had tuna in O.O. but I'm going to be looking for it now. Thank you Jack.

Korea has tuna packed in kimchi. It's good(if you like kimchi)

Hey, I would love to hear about other canned seafood or meat. And simple ways to prepare a healthy meal using something like canned salmon or sardines. Thanks!

Would have appreciated a more thorough commentary including the healthiness of packing in oil. I've always heard water is better, oil is bad, blah, blah, blah but I don't honestly know. My guess is there is only a slight difference, if any. Then again, I use lard occasionally and believe butter is less bad for you than margarine, so what do I know? Just curious if ATK has any data on that, that's all. Keep up the good work and Happy New Year!

Oh, bother...none of the top choices are anywhere to be found in my local markets. Have to stick to my usual Tonno di Genova Yellowfin in the gold cans. Why, ATK, feature brands we can't get? Also, why caption in Korean only??

Tunino is amazing! It is a game changer!

All you need to know about great tuna. 1. buy tuna in oil in a can 2. soak a paper towel in it, let it absorb the oil with the corners outside it. 3. light up corners of the paper and wait for it to almost go out. 4. carefullly remove paper, enjoy warm cooked tuna. Has a smoky grilled taste. great cheap snack for camping and in general.

Queen Jack is not playing around !

I'd like to see the testing & ranking of several different tuna brands/types in olive oil. Seems lke Ortiz is fairly expensive compared to others, & Tonnino, while not quite as expensive, still fairly high by comparison.

Back in the day my Mom frequently served us whatever canned tuna was on sale mixed with a little Thousand Island dressing over lettuce. Easy quick lunch. Her other tuna go to recipe was to mix canned tuna, chopped celery, a few chopped pecans, Mayo, and serve over iceberg lettuce. We kids loved both recipes.

I hated tuna as a kid because it was always light flaked in vegetable oil. The oil and the mayo!? (I also hated mayo). When I first had solid white albacore in water I loved it!! Because I hated the oiliness, I have never tried tuna in olive oil. I'm wary. But I'll give it a shot, as long as it's solid white. I'm trusting you!

From "light" flaked tuna - childhood - I have graduated to Starkist solid white albacore - but I can't make the leap to any of the fancy brands packed in oil. To me tuna (canned tuna at least) is still a kitchen cabinet staple, eaten straight out of the can with a bit of olive oil and lemon when I need a quick boost / I just don't cook with it, except a blue moon pasta dish now and then.

Jack you are the best

I eat tuna with sriracha for breakfast almost every day 👍

Thank You for no frills approach to Tuna! I had a "tuna awakening" about a year ago and was telling everyone that THERE is better tuna out there. Lol. Im serious. Jack you tell it like it is and hand down a great tester with you rationale on WHY is better....fish on!!

Again Thanks Jack for Steering in the Right direction 👍 on the Best quality of Foods. God Bless 🙌 you.

Never liked canned tuna,now I know why!! Thank you Jack!!

I appreciate the info, i might try tuna sandwiches again.

I grew up on tuna only in oil. I’m sure the cheap stuff doesn’t use olive but a cheaper oil. Light is much better than white or albacore as light is likely skipjack. Still love it to this day

I love this show. I have watched it for years. While others binge watch TWD I binged on this!!

I'm one of those unsophisticateds who loves making tuna salad for sandwiches and crackers. The cheap tuna is really good for that. Jack mentions that the light tuna is more "fishy". He's not wrong, but we do need to clarify that it's "fishy" as in "smells and tastes intensely like fish", not "smells and tastes like rotten fish". That's a different fishy. You do want to squeeze as much water out as possible. Pressing the lid into the can does an OK job, but I've got one of those kitchen unitasker doohickeys designed to squeeze the water out. It's more thorough, and I don't get tuna water all over my hands. Tuna salad holds together better when there's as little water as possible. And even though I wring out all the water, my tuna salad isn't dry because I put an illegal amount of mayonnaise in there. Just like Jack, I grew up eating tuna sandwiches. The difference is that I really, really liked them, and I still do.

I love tuna in can. I always make tuna floss using tuna in can using my bread machine. Super easy and delicious. Only need to press one button and it's ready. Now after watching your video I can try tuna in different liquid to make my tuna floss to see which one is more tasty.

I've never seen this guy but what a looker who knows it all and presents so well. Reminded me of Sanjay Gupta.

I use to like Tuna in oil when I was growing up but now I prefer in water.

Genova tuna is very good. At Lidl's, we also buy delicious Spanish, albacore tuna fillets in olive oil. That tuna comes in glass jars.

I spend a month or two each year in Europe. The selection of caned tuna is broad and delicious

thought for sure that Jack was going to say "if you buy tuna in water, i'm coming for you"; what ever you do, don't by pre shredded cheese...

I buy Genova packed in olive oil at my local Market Basket. It's all solid tuna, almost nothing to drain, so you get your money's worth. Cheaper brands have bits and pieces swimming in oil or water.

I grew up thinking tuna was a treat, because we only had it on Fridays (thanks, Catholic church). Now I eat it whenever I want. Genova is good, but I really like Portofino, and it's a pretty good deal for 12 cans on Amazon.

I always figured tuna was tuna. Never liked it in oil-makes it too greasy for my taste. I enjoy a good tuna melt on rye bread. Yummy!

Solid albacore in water. Open with can opener then push out water with lid. Dump tuna in bowl plop huge helping of mayonnaise in bowl. Mix thoroughly crushing tunafish with fork. Add tablespoon of sweet pickled relish. Stalk of diced celery. Toast two pieces of white bread. Sprinkle shredded cheddar on tuna mix microwave 30 seconds to melt cheese. Dump tuna on toasted bread spread out evenly garnish with lettuce and tomato.

I was hoping you would speak to Mercury and Radiation. I like Tuna, and these are concerns that few talk about. Perhaps you should... Thank you.

Thank you for doing the research and sharing!

I love Jack telling his mother to turn off the TV! I love tuna by itself or in a sandwich with celery, onion, pepper, paprika, chopped red peppers (or orange or yellow) a little light mayo. Toasted hearty bread topped with sliced tomatoes & crisp lettuce and accompanied by a cold glass of milk!! Guess what I'm making for dinner tonight?!? What I don't like is the tuna casserole covered with potato chips my mom made in the 1960's & '70's! That was gross even though my cousin's thought it was delicious! Thanks for the segment!

We in italy discovered the olive oil tuna ages ago!!!! I live in Canada now and olive oil tuna is very expensive and very small quantities

Nothing beats home canned! But that don't happen much in my home! We prefer Kirkland (Costco). Did like the look of the tuna in the jar though!

Sensible post. There are also really good other brands, but I can only get them by mail order, like Callipo or As do Mar. Even Ortiz, which you show, is hard to find here in northern Indiana. I once mail-ordered about 8+ tunas in olive oil to do a taste test with friends. Of the supermarket brands, the favorite was actually Starkist in olive oil. But the mail-order ones were the best. A bit spendy, though. I'll go with Callipo or As do Mar, if possible.

I have never seen those fancy, expensive brands in any store in all my 85 years of life!!!! I've seen "Star kissed" and "Chicken of the Sea"!

tonnino is generally great, but there are variations in dryness from batch to batch. the surest bet is tonnino in a jar.

I love tuna. We grew up with it and ate it every Friday night in sandwiches. Cottage cheese and a banana. Ice cream for desert.

you left us hanging! give a link on what you have for the 'best' tuna fish sandwich.

Nice but prefer sardines though now wondering if you got quality sardines in oil and mixed chopped with quality tuna in water drained hmmmm May try

I've found Kroger's store brand to be superior to most, and Smart & Final's First Street store brand to be the best over all. And both are packed in water. The oil versions just don't matter.

I'm older than Jack. When I was a kid, Ma made me tuna sandwiches that were from tuna packed in oil, dipped from the can, placed on buttered bread then covered with more buttered bread. We didn't have Ziploc bags so by lunchtime there was tuna flavored oil all over my lunchbox. Maybe that's the reason I prefer tuna packed in water?

Several other excellent brands IMO. Wish more premium brands had been considered. Also, check out a couple of tiny Oregon brands. Zero added ingredients. Cooked once in the can.. The juice separates during cooking but is easily recombined with the fish in a bowl before mixing with other ingredients. Also, how about a mention of luxury ventresca tuna?

Oh man, I just love tuna. Would not eat it growing up. Now cannot seem to get enough. But eat it at least once or twice a week. I like the starkist in sunflower oil. Like the taste. 🐟

Hey, dont knock my mayo!

The question is, how do we know olive oil? So much olive oil today is not olive oil or it’s adulterated with other oils like soy bean and canola.

Hello, not a tuna fan but love your show! Happy new year!

I love the Star-Kist Yellow Fin Tuna in Olive Oil.

🐟 in 🫒 oil is the best!!! 😋🤤👍🏾

Jack rules.

I wish you guys measured mercury content for each brand.

Tonino is expensive, but life changing. I wait for it to go on sale and stock up.

Ha ha I got my cat some tuna in olive oil and she didn’t like it. She was licking her chops for 20 minutes after that first bite. She didn’t like the oil sticking to her whiskers. lol Anyway, she only has tuna in water now. I only buy tuna in water because she still begs for it and I don’t want to sit through all that angst when she’s distressed. But I understand the point.